1st Source Bank donates $100,000 to Southwestern Michigan College

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — 1st Source Bank recently donated $100,000 to support the construction of a state-of-the-art nursing education building on the Southwestern Michigan College (SMC) campus in Dowagiac, Mich. The funds will be used to create a collaborative working space in which students and professors can work side by side.

“When we learned of Southwestern Michigan College’s plans to advance their nursing education facilities, we were compelled to contribute to the project,” states Kevin Murphy, Central Region President of 1st Source Bank. “1st Source holds community leadership and the betterment of our communities among our highest missions as an organization. The health and well-being of the people in this area is part of that mission, and there is no better way to ensure those things thrive than to have highly-trained and confident nurses and medical professionals in our hospitals and practices.”

The building of this new facility for the SMC nursing program is in response to the nursing “shortage” the U.S. is facing. SMC hopes to admit and train many more nursing students than it has historically during the 50+ years of the program, and to do it with cutting edge simulation technology allowing students to experience a variety of real-life medical situations to which they would not otherwise be exposed.

“It’s our honor to have 1st Source Bank as a partner on this project,” says Dr. David M. Mathews, President of Southwestern Michigan College. “The expansion of this program’s facilities is our largest undertaking, and it will be one that produces the greatest reward for our students and communities. Knowing we have partners in this area to help us in educating and preparing the next generation of nurses and medical professionals is inspiring and integral to the success of enhancing our educational offerings.”